1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a device for supporting a book open at a desired page and more specifically for holding a book open and enabling the book to be self-supporting in a stand-up position without requiring a support stand or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well-known that books are easier to read and cause less physical strain to read over an extended period of time when they are supported, such as on a reading stand. This is because generally the words and pictures appearing on a page being read are all about the same distance from the eye. When a book is laid flat on a table or desk, the top of the page is further from the reader than the bottom of the page, requiring constant refocusing as the reader reads down the page. Furthermore, the letters are at an angle, rather than being normal to the line of sight. If one were to try to place a flatly laid, open book normal to the line of sight, one would have to hover over the book, thereby putting the person's back in a bit of a strain because of the strange posture.
Because stands are bulky and somewhat expensive, not too many people use them at their desks and reading tables in spite of the drawbacks referred to above.
So-called book clips to assist people in holding pages open to the desired pages have been invented over the years, as will be discussed below, but none has ever achieved a wide degree of acceptance. For example, as early as Dec. 19, 1876, U.S. Pat. No. 185,606, Weston, disclosed a book clip to separate the pages using a structure with a wide back and two legs in front. The structure was relatively large, tended to slide on the page and was not sturdy. U.S. Pat. No. 294,087, Small, disclosed a bent structure forming a clamp for holding a book open and clamping it to a stand. U.S. Pat. No. 395,473, Bartley, discloses a wire structure somewhat like the Weston structure, but having a total of four depending supports, the middle two somewhat close together to keep the clip from sliding sideways quite so far as the Weston clip. U.S. Pat. No. 397,890, Beirdler, discloses several bent configurations that wrap around the book for holding it open from the back. U.S. Pat. No. 560,025, Ellis, reveals several structures a little like Bartley with the two middle legs longer than the outside legs and joined at the top with a resilient spring to permit use on rather large books.
U.S. Pat. No. 965,720, Limpus, discloses two spaced apart arc clamps on a bar, that appears particularly suited for holding sheet music, rather than a conventional book. U.S. Pat. No. 1,762,686, Hayashi, discloses a bar and clamp arrangement that appears to clamp the pages remote from the center of the book and is adjustable to hold different page thicknesses. U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,813, Graham, discloses a bookholder with a large wire stand position fitting behind the book, a center U-shaped, double-leg that fits at the spine and spring-loaded outer legs for holding pages at a distance remote from the spine. U.S. Design Pat. No. D269,443, Million, discloses a three-leg stand and bookholder for sitting on a desk, supporting the center of the book and the two facing pages at distances remote from the center.
It appears that for quite some time, there has been a need for a small, simple, and inexpensive structure for holding a book open and even in providing a stand or support for a book while keeping it open so that it can be viewed standing vertical or nearly so. As shown above, devices have been proposed for book clips that were made wholly or partially from wire stock. However, all known prior art devices are either fairly large and appear to be either cumbersome to use or fragile and readily bent or misshapened in use. Many others are made up of numerous parts and appear to be rather expensive to make both from the point of view of cost of materials as well as in difficulty to manufacture economically.
Therefore, it is a feature of the present invention to provide an improved book clip that is small and rugged and that includes a small amount of material and is inexpensive to fabricate or manufacture.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide an improved book clip that is small and compact, yet not only keeps books of many sizes and construction open, but also causes the book with which it is used, to be self-supporting in a desirable, nearly vertical orientation.